Fugitive grandma pleads not guilty to Florida murder charge

Updated 11:23 am, Monday, May 14, 2018

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A Minnesota woman accused of killing her husband and a Florida woman before leading authorities on a cross-country manhunt has entered a not guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge.

Court documents say 54-year-old David Riess was found dead at the couple's Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, home on March 23. Authorities say Lois Riess came to Fort Myers and soon met 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson.

Investigators believe Riess killed Hutchinson to assume her identity. Riess was captured in South Padre Island, Texas, and returned to Florida to face charges. Charges in Minnesota are also pending.